A lynching is no laughing matter – Silver Streak Comics #13, August 1941

The early 1970’s Green Arrow/Green Lantern teamups are among the most often republished comic books of all time. Written by Dennis O’Neil and drawn by Neal Adams, these “street level” tales found the heroes tackling a variety of contemporary social and economic injustices which included discrimination and drug abuse. These stories are often cited (in various documentaries, as well as in print) as being the first time that comic books addressed “real world” injustice, but that statement is wholly incorrect. As far back as 1941, costumed heroes were occasionally confronted with socioeconomic dilemmas.

BONUS BATTLE OCTOBER! Daredevil vs The Claw (Part 5) — Silver Streak Comics #11, June 1941

[SPECIAL NOTE: Longtime readers of this blog may have noticed a sidebar concerning ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. A newspaper yesterday published a story about an ALS sufferer; I’d be personally grateful if you’d read it. The guy in the article is one of my oldest friends; we’ve known each other since elementary school. We just happened to wind up married to sisters, so he’s also my brother-in-law. This blog talks a lot about bravery and heroism, about stories and characters which show a lot of heart. When it comes to bravery and heart, one need look no further than Dave, who shows more far grace in the face of a life-threatening illness than most people do when confronted with a traffic jam or a long line at the supermarket cash register. It’s an honor for me to be able to call Dave both a friend and a brother, and I’d be grateful if you’d be kind enough to spend a few minutes reading his story. Thanks! — Steve]

With the eleventh issue of Silver Streak Comics the battle between Daredevil and The Claw became a whole new ball game. For openers, writer/artist Jack Cole moved on to other projects; this would be the first chapter of the series to not feature Cole as either the writer or artistic talent. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, this would also be the last chapter of the epic struggle between the two comic titans.

Villains: The Sorceress of Zoom – Weird Comics #10, January 1941

Golden Age comic writers and artists created a medium essentially from thin air in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s; as I’ve written previously there were no “established conventions” and these guys and gals pretty much made it all up as they went. But they didn’t work in a complete vacuum, and they certainly had their influences.